Wisconsin residents who were improperly foreclosed on received $86.2 million in relief by the end of September as a result of a national mortgage settlement with five banks accused of abuses, according to a report released Monday.

In Wisconsin, 1,873 customers with Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Ally Financial/GMAC have benefited from some kind of consumer relief through the end of September, the companies reported to the national settlement administrator. That's a benefit of more than $46,000 per borrower. | Nov. 19, 2012»Read Full Article(6)

With help from people around the world, the National Academy of Sciences a few years back outlined 14 "grand challenges" for engineering in the 21st century - any one of which, if met, could improve how we live.

Judy Neary of Brookfield has mixed feelings about the Affordable Care Act and knows little about the online marketplaces, or exchanges, for health insurances that are to be in place by late next year under the law.

But she knows the frustration of shopping for health insurance and the idea of an exchange intrigues her. | Nov. 17, 2012»Read Full Article(24)

For more than two decades, Julie Griebenow lined up in the early morning darkness outside a retail store - usually Toys "R" Us - on the day after Thanksgiving.

But last year, when retailers began moving up the starting times for Black Friday, she found herself queuing with other shoppers at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving. And it looks like those early-morning starts for her annual shopping adventure are gone for good. | Nov. 17, 2012»Read Full Article(22)

It's nearly inevitable: You see a McDonald's, and there's a Burger King nearby. Car dealerships? They flock together like birds of a feather. Ditto with gas stations, usually on opposite sides of the same well-traveled street.

So it makes sense that within a block or so of one another, in the Walker's Point neighborhood, Milwaukee has three businesses that make local foods and beverages, with a fourth one moving in soon and others that may be on the way. | Nov. 17, 2012»Read Full Article(11)